Cardiovascular disorders are the cause of thousands of deaths each year. Cardiac arrhythmias are among such disorders. Arrhythmias are cardiac abnormalities characterized by irregular beating of the heart. Typical arrhythmias include ventricular fibrillation (VF), ventricular tachycardia, auricular flutter, and auricular fibrillation.
A number of drugs are known which display varying degrees of antiarrhythmic activity. Quinidine, procainamide, lidocaine, and digitalis are perhaps the most widely used antiarrhythmic agents. Recent research has developed improved antiarrhythmic agents such as flecainide, bretylium, certain diphenylbutanolamines, and certain 9,9-disubstituted fluorenes; see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,313.
Although it is not generally the case, some antiepileptic drugs, such as phenytoin, also have antiarrhythmic properties. This invention provides a method for treating cardiac arrhythmias employing certain known anticonvulsants of the aminobenzamide class.